"I might not have super sensitive hearing like you do, but I can clearly see you from across the bushes."

"I came to make sure you are alright," he said.

The semilunar morning light shined upon the dew drops causing a playful reflection in the nearing surroundings, making way for the fireflies to dance around in the heat of the forest.

"You know, Kore's right," I told him, brushing the tears that rushed down my face. "Nothing changes no matter what I'll do,"

The dead tree that I leaned on started to grow green, and as my tears fell down, the sky slowly started to shed small soft raindrops. It felt like all the composure I hardly mustered up in the last few days was slowly but surely crumbling to pieces.

"I can't go back to where I came from no matter what I do. I lied..." I paused, not sure if I should look up at him or not. "I lied! Do you hear me?" I cried. "There's nothing to go back to, anyways. You know? I made it all up!"

I started to feel my uneasiness building up in my stomach, making it impossible for me to breathe. Uncontrollable unrhythmic hiccups were the only things I could utter for the next few silent minutes.

"I couldn't even finish a fucking bachelor's degree. I don't have where to live. I have no friends. I don't even know why the hell I was chosen to be brought here. You've no idea how pathetic my very existence was where I come from."

The fireflies gathered around me and landed on my hair and shoulders. I tried to shoo them away uselessly, but they wouldn't budge.

"I don't even know who my real parents are, and the only person who ever cared about my pathetic and deplorable existence passed away. And I didn't even get to see her off," I confessed. "Did you know? I used to sleep in a tiny ass run-down apartment, where it was colder as you came in than outside. I used to have to count how much I ate to make sure I have enough money for the next day. There were days I didn't eat. And when I did, I ate alone, because I knew that nobody would want to eat with me." I blurted out, sobbing. "I don't know where along the way did things go so wrong with me. Why do I always end up alone?"

My bottom lip trembled and I dug my teeth into it trying to muffle my sobbing.

"So, you can stop pretending to care just to keep an eye on me. There is nowhere for me to go anyways. Nobody is coming for me!" I laughed and extended my arms showing around me. "Like...where...Where am I even going to run?"

"I-" Rex broke the silence, and proceeded to walk closer to me, "I am not keeping an eye on you." He paused, looking behind us, and nodding slightly in the direction on the outskirts. "They have a magical barrier for that."

"Ha!" I sobbed. "Even better!"

"I apologize for what Kore said. There is so much that he doesn't understand."

"Oh, trust me! He understands things just FINE... And believe me! I blame myself more than he does. Who wouldn't, at this point?"

I sunk my head onto my knees in a silly attempt to muffle my cries. That is when he came next to me and kneeled in front.

"Like...I don't even know what's the purpose of me continuing to stay here. You should've just let that merchant buy me. Am I supposed to magically make it rain for you?" I paused to breathe in. "Or I am supposed to help you grow your own personal tomato garden? And maybe pray that I won't lose consciousness and murder a dozen people every once in a while?"

"Look at me," he whispered, "Look at me..."

I could feel the heat of his gaze on me, the same way I had felt it before, the way it had always made my heart beat just a little faster. An uncomfortable feeling bubbled in me, and it felt as if no matter what I did it wouldn't go away.

"I don't blame you," he said, softly taking my face into his palms, brushing away some loose hair strands away from my face. "The curse that was on our land is no longer here, and it's thanks to you we aren't rotting away. That is all you!" he emphasized. "My people are alive thanks to you. Even if they don't realize how much, but they need you..."

Rex gazed at me firmly.

"I need you."

I sighed, forcing myself to move forward despite the knot of nerves in my stomach. The moment he caressed my cheeks so tenderly, the contact with his fingers made my skin tingle. His touch was brief, but the weight of it hung between us.

I looked up to him and placed my palms over his hands.

"You have no idea how much the fear of killing someone again hunts me. I would-" I paused, my mind reeling to the horrible images still fresh in my memory.

"Tell me," Rex said softly, his voice low enough that only I could hear. I didn't respond, too caught up in the feeling of his proximity, of how much he seemed to fill the space around us.

The music of the festivities swirled in the distance, and I could feel the heat of his body, the subtle pull of attraction that neither of us had ever fully acknowledged. Every breath felt heavier than the last, as if our bond was pulling us together against our will.

As Rex's gaze embraced me in its caring aura, the sounds of the forest around us, the distant chatter, the music—it all blurred into the background. All that mattered in that second was the sensation of being with him, the pull that had always been there, but which neither of us wanted to face.

My eyes flicked to his lips. Just kiss me, the thought came unbidden, but I shook it away immediately. I couldn't let herself think that way. Not now, not when everything was already so complicated.

I looked up into his eyes, and for the first time that night, he didn't look away.

And I panicked.

I pushed his hands away from me, even though they were ever only comfort bringing. He frowned, tightening his fists, and pulled them away carefully.

"I would rather die again than lose control once more," I admitted, a confession which made his eyebrows furrow together, his fists clenched together even tighter.

I traced his coming-of-marking-age tattoo with my fingers, feeling the rough skin under my tips.

"I won't expect you to do such a thing with someone like me."

His skin was warm under my touch and I could feel the blood pulsing underneath it's paleness.

"A part of me wishes I didn't understand what you said earlier," I told him. "I know you would never see me like that. You wouldn't. You probably already found someone you want."

I paused, for a moment digging my heels in the mildly wet soil.

The air was thick with the scent of wolfsbane and the sweet aroma of fresh wine, the music now at a steady, pounding rhythm. The laughter of the pack was louder, the heat of the night oppressive, and the connection between us felt undeniable. I found myself unable to pull away from him.

It wasn't just  the heat of our bodies so close—it was something deeper, something unspoken. I could see the slight tension in his jaw, the way his hands flexed at his sides as if unsure of what to do next.

My chest tightened, my breath coming in shallow bursts, and I could feel the pulse of my own heartbeat echoing through my veins.

"I saw you with those women earlier tonight..."

I was jealous. Jealous of the women who had danced with Rex earlier. Jealous of how easily they had flocked to him, offering themselves in ways I wasn't sure I could. The thought churned in my stomach, mixing with the darker, unspoken things I had been trying to ignore.

"You wouldn't want me there if one day your fated mate shows up," I rambled on. "I understood that much."

Rex was aware of my discomfort, of course. I knew it by the way his gaze softened. It was as if he were reading my every thought, his eyes tracing the shape of my face, watching me closely as if waiting for me to say something more. But I didn't know what else to say, my mind was a storm of confused emotions. I couldn't bring myself to say what was on my mind—not when Rex, in his usual guarded way, was looking at me like I was a mystery he was trying to solve.

The distance between us shrunk as he inched closer to me.

"I didn't mean it like that," he clarified, looking at me candidly.

"I clearly heard it all tonight," I hiccupped. "What marking is all about to you..."

His hand ventured once more and held onto mine in a tenderly manner, as if all the good and the gentle was embodied in my very existence. His hands were trembling. I can still remember their warmth to this day. 

But then Rex's hand held onto my waist, firmly, and the way he held me sent a jolt of electricity through me skin. The world outside our little bubble ceased to exist, and for a moment, it felt as if we were the only two people in the world.

"Like...You want a Lykan woman, like yourself, don't you?" I hiccupped once more, "And-and who is ..." I paused; the heaviness of the wolfsbane and slumbershade weighting heavily on my thoughts. "What was it..." I mumbled, struggling to find the right words. "You can't force feelings?"

I felt my words lumping up in my throat, burning against the cage of my mouth, ready to spill.

"I understand that you already have someone who you love. I should've known."

I looked at his bare feet that sunk in the grass in front of me. Budding gardenias bloomed beneath the fresh grass brushing against our bare feet. They were yearning to embrace us, tightly, gingerly, so there would be no distance left between. Our skin slightly stained with soil bathed in the sunrays that now peaked shyly through the branches.

"I wouldn't have minded if you told me I'm not your type, even though I really, was...really... close to really-really falling for your grandpa hair," I mumbled, and I rested my head on his chest, softly placing my palm against it.

My heart beat loudly against its confinement. It made me wonder if he was able to hear its relentless agitations as loud as I felt them. My mouth ran dry, and I felt shivers running over my skin. My pulse thumped in my temples, overlapping with the rustling of the forest.

When I finally looked up at Rex, his expression softened.

Silence and the earthy scent embraced us both, as we stole glances from each other. Rex lowered his gaze to my hand and squeezed it with care.

"I must tell you," he whispered, our fingers finally intertwining, making me feel like the spaces between them were made for his hands only, "there isn't anybody else, truthfully," he confessed, raising his right hand to my cheek and brushed it tenderly.

My stomach tightened as I felt the alcohol get the best of me.

I straightened up, facing him closely, and with all reason leaving me, I felt my lips meeting his.